Lost in the world

We encourage children to question the validity of stereotypes and challenge them. Yet, the implication is that these stereotypes have been taught previously and as a result exist prior to being challenged. Is it necessary to teach stereotypes and then consequently encourage their dismissal? Is it not better to encourage a mind set where stereotypes are seen as anything other than reflections of reality?

I am a lister, I write lists, lots of them. I write to do lists that include such banal points as ‘eat dinner’, I write lists of PDOs (personal development objectives), books I want to read, exercises I should do, places I want to go, things I want to do before I am thirty. Ironically I am even writing a list about writing lists.

There is however, one list I have probably never made, and that is a list of things I like. Things that give me pleasure, so here goes:

• That extended stretch you do in bed on a Sunday morning
• The way the hot water feels on your shoulder in the shower
• The way the rain sounds on a car roof
• The way the wind howls when you’re in a high building
• The warm comforting feeling of a hot drink after a long day
• The breeze that strokes the hair out of your face 
• Hugs and kisses from mummy, because one can never be too old
• When you are familiar/catch/understand an intellectual reference in conversations
• The smell and feel of books, old and new
• Chai Tea Lattes

Surely there must be more…